Questionnaire Survey on Security Export Control Systems at Universities

Technology management is becoming essential as Japan’s economic and security environment is reshaped by the escalating rivalry for technological hegemony between the U.S. and China. In this context, how do universities effectively incorporate security export control policies while creating technology and knowledge? To answer the question, we conducted a questionnaire survey of all national universities in Japan, as well as public and private universities with science, technology, and medicine departments. This study examines what variables are associated with the current university export system, using as dependent variables the five main items that have been raised as problems in academic freedom and export control: university authorities’ understanding of research with foreign companies as part of industry-academia collaboration, their understanding of research that could become dual-use technology, their decisions regarding technology under exceptions to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, their requirement to disclose the source of funds for research projects to researchers or laboratories that are subject to regulations, their implementation of compliance with internal regulations when foreign faculty members or students return to their home countries. The results show that the presence of a full-time staff member within the export control department is effective in ensuring clearer decision-making relating to technology exceptions to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act and in evaluating research that could become dual-use technology. Furthermore, having an experienced individual in the department who overseas export control policy implementation increases the likelihood of identifying research that could be categorized as dual-use, and in cases of projects with researchers or laboratories that are subject to the list restrictions, increases the chance of disclosure of funding sources for such projects. We recommend that a focus on cultivating specialized human resources be prioritized, as the efficacy of the current government system, including the program of sending advisors to relevant institutions, has proven very limited.